Big and Bashful wrote: ↑Wed Jan 05, 2022 4:05 pm
Hi Dust,
Britain = Great Britain, no difference. It is the largest of the British Isles, On it are the countries of England, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom is England, Scotland, Wales and also Northern Ireland, which is part of the island of Ireland, the rest of Ireland being a republic.
The British Isles includes Great Britain, Ireland and all the other smaller islands.
The Queen is erm, well she is Queen of the United Kingdom and any other parts of the Commonwealth that haven't binned her, or something.
We also have overseas territories, the BIOT being a contentious one, (The British Indian Overseas Territory, all or part of the Chagos islands, largest island is Diego Garcia) and Gibraltar is also part of the UK.
England has the Queen to wave at people and a Prime Minister to indulge in shouting matches.
Scotland also has the same Queen and has Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister with a Scottish Parliament however they would like to be fully independent but currently also have to answer to the English Parliament at Westminster.
Wales have the Welsh Assembly and some say over what happens there, as do the people of Northern Ireland.
Gibraltar has the Government of Gibraltar and some of their laws are slightly different to the laws back in Great Britain.
The BIOT is an odd one, an almost uninhabited group of islands with a U.S. military base on it. No local population, just US military, some British military and support contractors.
The most powerless seem (to me) to be the Royal family, in theory the Government rule on behalf of the Queen, but effectively the Royals are nothing more than figureheads. Even most of their speeches are written by the Government.
Oh dear. Where do I start?
Even the Brits can’t get it right. Usually the English, who, while being the nicest people you could meet, are a bit geographically challenged. They keep referring to the U.K. as England - which is an easy way of getting verbally assaulted in Scotland or parts of Wales.
Great Britain is a geographical term. It’s the big island. You can’t call the U.K. Great Britain (even though our Olympic team is wrongly named, to appease the pro- Unificatiion faction in Northern Ireland). We’re a bit screwed up that way. I blame the politicians. Do NOT refer to the U.K. as Great Britain. It excludes Northern Ireland. Sometimes our own politicians do that - but they are generally cretins with no geographical awareness.
Britain is a common name for the U.K. we are all British. Makes sense.
Britain is not the same as Great Britain. It’s a proxy for the U.K.
There is no such thing as the English Parliament. B&B - are you feeling okay? Thats the U.K. Parliament. Scotland, Wales and NI have their own devolved parliaments with certain devolved powers for that nation - but England doesn’t have an equivalent. It may come in time. BUT the London Parliament is U.K. - not England’s.
Sumnary
We’re from the U.K. and we are all British, hence the loose term Britain.
Dust, you’re from the USA and you are all Americans, hence the loose term America.
Got that? It’s not hard. Just use U.K./Britain and you’ll be fine. Never England. Or Scotland or Wales (Dust - that’s the Welsh, not the Welch). Unless you’re identifying purely with that country as distinct and separate from the U.K. Like a Texan who announced themselves using that moniker.
Sorry if it’s confusing. Dumb English dominant (I.e don’t care) governments and ignorant masses. Having a Bank of England is the most dumb one of all. Do dollar bills have bank of Texas on them?
Welcome to the screwed up state that is the U.K.
Ray